E-cars: from Bolzano to Turin, interoperability in recharging

Published on 26 March 2018

One of the first objections raised when discussing electric mobility is e-cars’ lack of range. This often happens on long journeys on motorways; for example when their owners go on holiday. This detail has tended to discourage drivers who are otherwise interested in e-cars from an ecological and economic point of view.

This is why Enel X is creating a network of charging stations that covers all of Italy, thereby making electric mobility the perfect choice. 7,000 charging columns will be installed throughout the country by 2020, and that number will literally double by 2022.

Drivers will be able to take their electric cars on long journeys worry-free, stopping to recharge along their route on the motorway or on long-distance roads, just like the more traditional, polluting vehicles. But what happens when they reach an area which is not managed by their operator, perhaps near the border? In order to respond to this particular need, Enel X has signed an agreement withAlperia, a South Tyrolean energy provider, to carry out an interoperability test between charging stations. In actual fact, Enel and Alperia customers can now use the charging infrastructure of both operators, which is a revolutionary development.

Enel customers traveling through South Tyrol can therefore pay for their recharges (with the card they normally use at the Enel Group’s recharging points) in the more than 50 stations that Alperia (which is based in Bolzano, the South Tyrolean capital) operates in the region.

Collaborations with companies that intend to invest in developing the electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout Italy is an important accelerator in the achievement of our national plan for the growth of electric mobility in the country

Francesco Venturini

Chairman and CEO of Enel X

We’re talking about sustainable mobility that is usable and has a very low environmental impact. Indeed the energy supplied by Alperia’s charging points comes from local hydroelectric power plants. They are the pride of a region particularly rich in waterways and which has an energy ecosystem that is extremely sensitive to the use of renewable sources. This experimental technological test for Enel and Alperia will pave the way for further cooperation between the two operators and enable their customers to travel worry-free.

Alperia is committed to creating a smart and sustainable future, and we are convinced that we can overcome this challenge by working together. This is why we are particularly pleased with the agreement with Enel, which allows us to offer customers from both companies a widely used and easily accessible recharging infrastructure. It marks an important step in the development of electric mobility in Italy

Johann Wohlfarter

CEO of Alperia

And what is the best way to evaluate the usability level of this interoperability paradigm? By simply seeing whether it works in practice. Enel X and Alperia therefore asked one of their customers to try out the service, with an e-car “testdrive” from Bolzano to Turin.

Once again, electric mobility has shown that it is synonymous with intelligence, agility and cooperation. But there is another word that needs to be added to Enel X’s definition of e-Mobility: range.

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